Ways of Coming to Know God

Created in
God's image and called to know and love him, the person who seeks God
discovers certain ways of coming to know him. These are also called
proofs for the existence of God, not in the sense of proofs in the natural
sciences, but rather in the sense of "converging and convincing
arguments," which allow us to attain certainty about the truth.
These ways of approaching God from creation have a twofold point of
departure: the physical world and the human person. (no. 31)

The
world: starting from movement, becoming, contingency, and the
world's order and beauty, one can come to a knowledge of God as the origin
and the end of the universe.

St.
Paul says of the Gentiles: For what can be known about God is plain to
them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the
creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity,
has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.

And
St. Augustine issues this challenge: Question the beauty of the earth, question
the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air distending and diffusing
itself, question the beauty of the sky...question all these realities. All
respond: "See, we are beautiful." Their beauty is a
profession. These beauties are subject to change. Who made them if
not the Beautiful One who is not subject to change? (no. 32)

The
human person: With his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of
moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his
longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about
God's existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual
soul. The soul, the "seed of eternity we bear in ourselves,
irreducible to the merely material," can have its origin only in God.
(no. 33)

Our
holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and
last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world
by the natural light of human reason. (no. 36)

God speaks to man through the visible creation.
The
material cosmos is so presented to man's intelligence that he can read there
traces of its Creator. Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth,
the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his
nearness. (no. 1147)

Even
before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to
him through the universal language of creation, the work of his Word, of his
wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos -- which both the child and the
scientist discover --"from the greatness and beauty of created things
comes a corresponding perception of their Creator," "for the
author of beauty created them." (no. 2500)

How
Can We Speak About God?

All
creatures bear a certain resemblance to God, most especially man, created in
the image and likeness of God. The manifold perfections of creatures
-- their truth, their goodness, their beauty -- all reflect the infinite
perfection of God. Consequently we can name God by taking his
creatures' perfections as our starting point, "for from the greatness
and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their
Creator." (no. 41)

God
transcends all creatures. (no. 42)

When
he listens to the message of creation and to the voice of conscience, man
can arrive at certainty about the existence of God, the cause and the end of
everything. (no. 46)

We
really can name God, starting from the manifold perfections of his
creatures, which are likenesses of the infinitely perfect God, even if our
limited language cannot exhaust the mystery. (no. 48)

"Without
the Creator, the creature vanishes." This is the reason why
believers know that the love of Christ urges them to bring the light of the
living God to those who do not know him or who reject him. (no. 49)

"I
Believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth"

Our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for
creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God's works. (no. 198)

To be
sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation
and in his Revelation... (no. 237)

Creation is
the foundation of "all God's saving plans," the "beginning of
the history of salvation" that culminates in Christ. Conversely,
the mystery of Christ casts conclusive light on the mystery of creation and
reveals the end for which "in the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth": from the beginning, God envisaged the glory of the new
creation in Christ. (no. 280)

Catechesis
on creation is of major importance. It concerns the very foundations
of human and Christian life. (no. 282)

The truth
about creation is so important for all of human life that God in his
tenderness wanted to reveal to his People everything that is salutary to
know on the subject. (no. 287)

Thus the
revelation of creation is inseparable from the revelation and forging of the
covenant of the one God with his People. Creation is revealed as the first
step towards this covenant, the first and universal witness to God's
all-powerful love. And so, the truth of creation is also expressed with
growing vigor in the message of the prophets, the prayer of the psalms and
the liturgy, and in the wisdom sayings of the Chosen People. (no. 288)

Among all
the Scriptural texts about creation, the first three chapters of Genesis
occupy a unique place. From a literary standpoint these texts may have had
diverse sources. The inspired authors have placed them at the beginning of
Scripture to express in their solemn language the truths of creation - its
origin and its end in God, its order and goodness, the vocation of man, and
finally the drama of sin and the hope of salvation. Read in the light of
Christ, within the unity of Sacred Scripture and in the living Tradition of
the Church, these texts remain the principal source for catechesis on the
mysteries of the "beginning": creation, fall, and promise of
salvation. (no. 289)

Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity. (no. 292)

"The world was made for the glory of God." St.
Bonaventure explains that God created all things "not to increase his
glory, but to show forth and to communicate it." (no. 293)

We believe
that God created the world according to his wisdom... He wanted to make his
creatures share in his being , wisdom, and goodness: "For you created
all things, and by your will they existed and were created."
Therefore the Psalmist exclaims, "O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all"; and "The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made." (no. 295)

Because creation comes forth from God's goodness, it shares in
that goodness -- "And God saw that it was good...very good." (no. 299)

Because
God creates through wisdom, his creation is ordered: "You have arranged
all things by measure and number and weight." The universe,
created in and by the eternal Word, the "image of the invisible
God," is destined for and addressed to man, himself created in the
"image of God" and called to a personal relationship with
God... On many
occasions the Church has had to defend the goodness of creation, including
that of the physical world. (no. 299)

God is
infinitely greater than all his works. (no. 300)

With
creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not
only gives them existence, but also, and at every moment, upholds and
sustains them in being. (no. 301)

Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did
not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was
created "in a state of journeying" (in statu viae) toward an ultimate
perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. (no. 302)

The
witness of Scripture is unanimous that the solicitude of divine providence
is concrete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the
great events of the world and its history. (no. 303)

God is the
sovereign master of his plan. But to carry it out he also makes use of
his creatures' cooperation. This use is not a sign of weakness, but
rather a token of almighty God's greatness and goodness. For God
grants his creatures not only their existence, but also the dignity of
acting on their own, of being causes and principles for each other, and thus
of cooperation in the accomplishment of his plan. (no. 306)

To human
beings God even gives the power of freely sharing in his providence by
entrusting them with the responsibility of "subduing" the earth
and having dominion over it. God thus enables men to be intelligent
and free causes in order to complete the work of creation, to perfect its
harmony for their own good and that of their neighbors. (no. 307)

The truth
that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseparable from
faith in God the Creator. God is the first cause who operates in and
through secondary causes: "For God is at work in you, both to will and
to work for his good pleasure." Far from diminishing the
creature's dignity, this truth enhances it. Drawn from nothingness by God's
power, wisdom, and goodness, it can do nothing if it is cut off from its
origin, for "without a Creator the creature vanishes." Still
less can a creature attain its ultimate end without the help of God's grace.
(no. 308)

If God the
Father almighty, the Creator of the ordered and good world, cares for all
his creatures, why does evil exist? ...Only Christian faith as a whole constitutes the answer to
this question: the goodness of creation, the drama of sin, and the patient
love of God who comes to meet man by his covenants, the redemptive
Incarnation of his Son, his gift of the Spirit, his gathering of the Church,
the power of the sacraments, and his call to a blessed life to which free
creatures are invited to consent in advance, but from which, by a terrible
mystery, they can also turn away in advance. There is not a single
aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the
question of evil. (no. 309)

But why
did God not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it?
With infinite power God could always create something better. But with
infinite wisdom and goodness God freely willed to create a world "in a
state of journeying" toward its ultimate perfection. In God's
plan this process of becoming involves the appearance of certain beings and
the disappearance of others, the existence of the more perfect alongside the
less perfect, both constructive and destructive forces of nature. With
physical good there exists also physical evil as long as creation
has not reached perfection. (no. 310)

In the
creation of the world and of man, God gave the first and universal witness
to his almighty love and his wisdom, the first proclamation of the
"plan of his loving goodness," which finds its goal in the new
creation in Christ. (no. 315)

Though the
work of creation is attributed to the Father in particular, it is equally a
truth of faith that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together are the one,
indivisible principle of creation. (no. 316)

God alone
created the universe freely, directly, and without any help. (no. 317)

God created the world to show forth and communicate his
glory. That his creatures should share in his truth, goodness, and beauty
- this is the glory for which God created them. (no. 319)

God created the universe and keeps
it in existence by his Word, the Son "upholding the universe by his
word of power" (Heb 1:3) and by his Creator Spirit, the giver of
life. (no. 320)

Divine providence consists of the dispositions by which God
guides all his creatures with wisdom and love to their ultimate end. (no. 321)

Divine
providence works also through the actions of creatures. To human
beings God grants the ability to cooperate freely with his plans. (no. 323)

God
himself created the visible world in all its richness, diversity, and
order. Scripture presents the work of the Creator symbolically as a
succession of six days of divine "work," concluded by the
"rest" of the seventh day. On the subject of creation, the
sacred text teaches the truths revealed by God for our salvation, permitting
us to "recognize the inner nature, the value, and the ordering of the
whole of creation to the praise of God." (no. 337)

Nothing
exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator. The world
began when God's word drew it out of nothingness; all existent beings, all
of nature. (no. 338)

Each
creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection.... Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects
in its own way a ray of God's infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the
particular goodness of every
creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of
the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their
environment. (no. 339)

God wills the interdependence of creatures.
The sun and
the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no
creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each
other, to complete each other, in the service of each other. (no. 340)

The beauty of the universe: The order and harmony of the created world results from the
diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them....The
beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator and ought to
inspire the respect and submission of man's intellect and will. (no. 341)

The hierarchy
of creatures is expressed by the order of the "six days,"
from the less perfect to the more perfect. God loves all his creatures
and takes care of each one, even the sparrow. Nevertheless, Jesus
said: "You are of more value than many sparrows," or again:
"Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!" (no. 342)

Man is the summit of the Creator's work, as the inspired
account expresses by clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the
other creatures. (no. 343)

There is a
solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have the same
Creator and are all ordered to his glory: May you be praised, O Lord,
in all your creatures, especially brother sun, by whom you give us light for
the day; he is beautiful, radiating great splendor, and offering us a symbol
of you, the Most High... May you be praised, my Lord, for sister water, who
is very useful and humble, precious and chaste... May you be praised, my
Lord, for sister earth, our mother, who bears and feeds us, and produces the
variety of fruits and dappled flowers and grasses... Praise and bless my
Lord, give thanks and serve him in all humility. [St. Francis of Assisi,
Canticle of the Creatures.] (no. 344)

In
creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm, on
which the believer can rely with confidence, for they are the sign and
pledge of the unshakeable faithfulness of God's covenant. For his part
man must remain faithful to this foundation and respect the laws which the
Creator has written into it. (no. 346)

Creation
was fashioned with a view to the Sabbath and therefore for the worship and
adoration of God. Worship is inscribed in the order of creation.
As the rule of St. Benedict says, nothing should take precedence over
"the work of God," that is, solemn worship. This indicates
the right order of human concerns. (no. 347)

The eighth
day. But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ's
Resurrection. The seventh day completes the first creation. The
eighth day begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation
culminates in the greater work of redemption. The first creation finds
its meaning and its summit in the new creation in Christ, the splendor of
which surpasses that of the first creation. (no. 349)

"God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and
female he created them." Man occupies a unique place in creation:
(I) he is "in the image of God"; (II) in his own nature he unites
the spiritual and material worlds; (III) he is created "male and
female"; (IV) God established him in his friendship. (no. 355)

Of all
visible creatures only man is "able to know and love his
creator." He is "the only creature on earth that God has
willed for its own sake," and he alone is called to share, by knowledge
and love, in God's own life. (no. 356)

God
created everything for man, but man in turn was created to serve and love
God and to offer all creation back to him: What is it that is about to
be created, that enjoys such honor? It is man -- that great and
wonderful living creature, more precious in the eyes of God than all other
creatures! For him the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rest
of creation exist. (no. 358)

In God's
plan man and woman have the vocation of "subduing" the earth as
stewards of God. This sovereignty is not to be an arbitrary and
destructive domination. God calls man and woman, made in the image of
the Creator "who loves everything that exists," to share in his
providence toward other creatures; hence their responsibility for the world
God has entrusted to them. (no. 373)

The first
man was not only created good, but was also established in friendship with
his Creator and in harmony with himself and the creation around him, in a
state that would be surpassed only by the glory of the new creation in
Christ. (no. 374)

By the
radiance of this grace all dimensions of man's life were confirmed. As long
as he remained in the divine intimacy, man would not have to suffer or die.
The inner harmony of the human person, the harmony between man and woman,
and finally the harmony between the first couple and all creation, comprised
the state called "original justice." (no. 376)

"Father,
...you formed man in your own likeness and set him over the whole world to
serve you, his creator, and to rule over all creatures" (Roman
Missal, EP IV 118). (no. 380)

"I Believe in
Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God"

Christ is
Lord of the cosmos and of history. In him human history and indeed all
creation are "set forth" and transcendently fulfilled. (no.
668)

"I Believe in the
Holy Spirit"

The Word of
God and his Breath are at the origin of the being and life of every
creature: It belongs to the Holy Spirit to rule, sanctify, and animate
creation, for he is God, consubstantial with the Father and the Son....
Power over life pertains to the Spirit, for being God he preserves creation
in the Father through the Son. (no. 703)

Christ
"is the head of the body, the Church." He is the principle
of creation and redemption. Raised to the Father's glory, "in
everything he (is) preeminent," especially in the Church, through whom
he extends his reign over all things. (no. 792)

In the glory
of heaven the blessed continue joyfully to fulfill God's will in relation to
other men and to all creation. (no. 1029)

For the
cosmos, Revelation affirms the profound common destiny of the material
world and man: For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing
of the sons of God . . . in hope because the creation itself will be set
free from its bondage to decay.... We know that the whole creation has been
groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we
ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we
wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (no. 1046)